What we do
International child abduction
Acting across borders to preserve family ties and seek solutions in children’s best interests.
Parental child abduction occurs when a parent takes or keeps their child abroad against the wishes of the other parent, without having the right to decide alone where the child lives. The child is then cut off from their environment and may be caught up in a family conflict that crosses borders.
ISS Switzerland supports families and professionals facing these situations. Its interdisciplinary team provides social and legal support, helps locate the child and maintain or restore family ties, and, where possible, seeks amicable solutions in the child’s best interests.
ISS Switzerland works in cooperation with the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ), the Swiss central authority for the application of the 1980 Hague Convention on international child abduction. Where the Convention does not apply, ISS Switzerland mobilises its international network and can help find solutions, in particular through international family mediation. In this field, it is a central contact point in Switzerland under the Malta Process.
Prevention, advice and referral
ISS Switzerland informs and advises parents, professionals and authorities faced with a risk or a situation of abduction. It provides social and legal insight, explains the available alternatives and options for action, and refers people to the competent services.
Locating the child
When a child has been taken or kept abroad, ISS Switzerland can help locate them by mobilising its international network, in cooperation with the authorities and partners concerned.
Social assessment and protection
With its partners abroad, ISS Switzerland can carry out, or arrange for, a social assessment of the child’s situation and environment. This information helps assess the child’s needs and put protective measures in place.
Restoring family ties
Where possible and in the child’s best interests, ISS Switzerland supports maintaining or restoring contact with the parent from whom the child is separated. It can also help set up suitable contact arrangements.
International family mediation
When the conditions are met, ISS Switzerland assesses whether international family mediation is possible and can offer mediation in Switzerland or refer parents to a competent service abroad. As the central contact point for international family mediation in Switzerland, ISS Switzerland also helps refer families to mediation professionals and services in the countries concerned.
Legal representation of the childService offered in German-speaking Switzerland
ISS Switzerland offers a child representation service in international child abduction proceedings before Swiss courts, in particular when the child has been removed to or retained in Switzerland, taking into account the child’s individual situation, age and maturity as well as their family and cultural background.
Preparing and supporting the return
When a court has ordered the child’s return or the parents have agreed on it, ISS Switzerland can prepare and support the child through this transition. It can also help coordinate the return and put measures in place to secure the resumption of family relationships.
Juana: a return to Switzerland made possible by mediation
Juana’s* mother takes her to Trinidad and Tobago*, her country of origin, without the consent of her father, Philippe*. Worried about the health of his daughter, who needs daily therapy, Philippe takes legal action and contacts ISS Switzerland.
Given the urgency, ISS Switzerland sets up pre-mediation with the mother, with the support of its partner in Trinidad and Tobago. After several months of discussions about Juana’s best interests and the conditions for her return, an agreement is reached.
In August 2023, Juana and her mother return to Switzerland. Juana can resume her therapy and reconnect with her father. This return was made possible by cooperation between the family, the Swiss authorities, ISS Switzerland and its partner in Trinidad and Tobago.
* Names and places changed.